Hi, I'm Michael.

I'm a dad of three and a husband. I've been coding since I was a kid, and I've always liked building things that help people.

For years I've been building apps for people who want to move more but find it hard to begin, or to begin again.

I get it. Kids, work, and the stretch of years where starting never quite happens. I want getting moving to feel like something you can fit into an ordinary day.

I'm over forty now, and keeping my energy up takes more deliberate work than it used to. That is the honest reason this app exists. I build things I need that I can't find anywhere else.

That starts with a small first step. A walk. A jog when you feel ready. A clear cue when it is time to ease back. You can start with the life you have and the person you are today.

First Gear is that idea on your wrist. It reads your heart rate and gives you cues for jogs and walking breaks. Your first session starts with a walk and twenty minutes on the clock. Six stages give the program structure, and you can choose to keep walking or finish early whenever you need to.

My own thirty days.

Here is my cardio fitness estimate. The flat stretch on the left is the week before I started. My first ever session with First Gear was August 24, and that is where the line turns. What surprises me is not the climb. It is that it felt effortless, because easy effort is the entire point. I was never out there suffering. I was walking, and jogging when my heart said I could.

That is my data, not a promise. The turn lines up with my first session, and I cannot tell you how much of it is fitness and how much is the watch: an Apple estimate sharpens as it collects outdoor sessions, and August 24 is when it started getting them from me. One person's month is not a result to expect, and First Gear does not claim one.

If that sounds like you, First Gear is on the App Store. Your first session is twenty minutes and it starts with a walk.

Michael